"DEAN WEEN ON THE FALL OF ROCK"

"I don't think I've bought three records in the last ten years that were made in the last ten years."

"Music was better ten years ago," asserts Dean Ween, "and better still 20 years ago, 30 years ago, and so on. Live 8 made it so obvious, because you could compare veterans like Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder to modern acts such as Linkin Park and Coldplay. It's all due to the dumbing down of society. It's a failure on the part of everybody - especially the record labels. They should be ashamed. And the power of MTV and Clear Channel has totally and absolutely ruined rock and roll. There is always good music out there, but if it's not exposed to the public, then the public won't realize it's being duped when it hears Creed or whomever. Nothing sneaks through the cracks anymore, so it's up to the kids to find the good stuff on their own. Listen and learn from David Bowie or Black Sabbath instead of the crap on modern rock radio, and start a band. There has always been a musical revolution when people get sick of the bulls**t, so I'm banking it will happen again-although it's been a long time since the last one!"

DEAN WEEN

WHO?

Dean Wean - ak.a. Mickey Melchiondo - is one-half of the wild duo, Ween. Melchiondo is Ween's primary guitarist, and partner Aaron Freeman (a.k.a. Gene Ween) is the primary vocalist. Melchiondo also moon-lights as Mickey Moist, guitarist for his blister-ing punk-metal side project, the Moistboyz.

STATUS

Working on a new Ween record. Terrorizing America on separate fall tours with the Moistboyz and Ween.

GEAR

Fender Stratocaster ('62 neck on a '62 reissue body, two gold Lace Sensors, and a Seymour Duncan Hotrail in the bridge), Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner and DD-3 Digital Delay, Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer, Mutron III, Snarling Dogs wah, MXR Phase 90, MXR Blue Box, Mesa/Boogie Mark IV, Boogie 2x10 cab, Dean Markley.010 set, Dunlop Tortex Standard 73mm pick.

CHECK OUT

Ween, Shinola Vol. 1; Ween, Quebec [Sanctuary]; The Moistboyz, Moistboyz IV [Sanctuary]